Week 10 - We were right about…

We told owners not to lose faith in Rams WR Donnie Avery during the second half of the season, and judging by his solid Week 10 performance against the Saints - it looks like we were right on the money with our prediction. Read more

Second Half Sleepers

As of this writing, the Houston Texans have yet to name a starting running back for Week 9. Former Philadelphia Eagles scat back Ryan Moats stepped in for a fumbling Steve Slaton in Week 8 and rushed 23 times for 126 yards and three TDs, while also catching two passes for 25 yards. Read more

2009 Breakout Players & Impact Rookies

So I’m fresh off my dynasty league rookie-only draft (year five of our league), and I’ve got rookies on the brain. However, I feel it’s only appropriate to delve into perhaps the most key topic this time of year. Owners that can identify and select “breakout players” – defined as guys who make the jump from being an occasional bye week or injury fill in to every week starter – as well as “impact rookies” – a pretty self explanatory term – can give themselves a huge advantage over the rest of their league. Here’s a position-by-position look at my top breakout players and impact rookies for 2009. Read more

Donnie Avery: “I run fast, but heal faster”

St. Louis Rams second year WR Donnie Avery, who came on strong last season and looked like he could blossom into a fine fantasy option in spite of the team’s horrible offense, has already been in the news quite a bit prior to the start of the season. Read more

Sophomore Sleepers - Wide Receivers

Astute fantasy owners are by now well are of Denver’s Eddie Royal and Philly’s DeSean Jackson, as both are on their way to becoming fantasy superstars after a stellar rookie season. However, dynasty, keeper and seasonal owners alike may not have taken the time quite yet to familiarize themselves with the other noteworthy members of last year’s rookie WR class. Read more

Ride The Hot Hands

You may have one of fantasy football’s hottest WRs over the last few weeks on your squad, but have you started him? St. Louis’ Donnie Avery has scored in three of his last four games, and had a career high six catches for 163 yards and a TD in Week 8. Should you start him in Week 9? Read more

Avery Is Legit, Ginn On The Radar…

A couple players we’ve been monitoring lately continued to prove they’re the real deal, while a couple others finally showed their true fantasy potential in Week 8. Read more

Fantasy Analytics Discusses Rookie WRs

To play With preseason activities gaining momentum, there is a definite need for quality rookie analysis as it pertains to the world of fantasy football. In an attempt to meet this need, Fantasy Football Analytics has partnered with No-Offseason.com on a 3-piece series, providing you the information you need to know before acquiring any of these rookies in dynasty leagues or deep keeper leagues. This first segment covers the quarterback and tight end positions and assigns each player discussed a letter grade for their dynasty league/deep keeper league value. Please be aware that these grades represent the long-term value of the players in question and not only the 2008 season. Read more

Ranking 2008 Rookie WRs

Surprisingly, St. Louis’ Donnie Avery was the first WR selected in the 2008 NFL Draft. The speedy route runner from the University of Houston came out of nowhere to become the 33rd overall pick. Just because he was the first pass catcher taken, doesn’t mean it’ll translate to the stat column in 2008. Limas Sweed, however, was the ninth pass catcher taken, and his fantasy value is looking pretty solid heading into 2008. Each season there’s at least one rookie WR who steps up his game and becomes fantasy worthy in his first season, and believe it or not, there is a rhyme or reason to predicting which one it’ll be. Read more

Avery Will Be Rams Third WR In 2008…

Donnie Avery was the first WR taken in the 2008 NFL Draft, 33rd overall by the St. Louis Rams. The speedster from Houston will start the season as the team’s third WR, which is a pretty darn good potential fantasy producing spot for a rookie in Al Saunders’ offense. As Avery improves his route running, he could surpass Drew Bennett on the outside and play/produce as much as a starter by year two or three of his career.

Downside - Troy Williamson

Upside - Greg Jennings

Overall, we like him as a dynasty prospect.

Discuss this more in our forums.

WRs Finally: Donnie Avery Goes To St. Louis 33rd, Devin Thomas To ‘Skins 34th…

After no WRs were taken in the first round, the St. Louis Rams added Houston’s Donnie Avery - a guy who’s value skyrocketed due to his 4.2 speed. Avery isn’t the best route runner, but is expected to play the slot at the next level. He can definitely stretch the field, and in Al Saunders’ offense, could be a force to be reckoned as he pairs with Torry Holt.

The Redskins then happily snatched up MSU WR Devin Thomas with the 34th overall pick. Thomas is immediately Jim Zorn’s best WR. We like him that much. We thought they’d get him with the 21st overall pick, so the fact that the ‘Skins get him here is huge. Thomas’ fantasy digits might not take shape until late in the year, after Jason Campbell works out the kinks and learns Zorn’s offense, but as dynasty value goes - Thomas is solidified in our book as a top prospect.

Donnie Avery A Top 40 Pick?

If you’ve noticed, most of our player news blurbs recently have had a “?” at the end of the headline. Man, I can hardly wait until that stops…only one more week - thank God. Anyway, Houston’s Donnie Avery is someone that many NFL scouts are saying will be a top 40 pick, meaning he’ll be gone by the early second round.

He blazed a 4.2 forty at his pro day, and that’s really what has driven his stock up. He’s not seen as a great route runner, but he’s definitley someone to monitor. If we had to guess, he’s more of an early third rounder, but depending on where he ends up, he could have high fantasy PO.